Efficacy of virtual reality on balance impairment in ataxic cerebral palsy children: randomized controlled trial.

A team in 2024 tested whether adding virtual reality training to standard physiotherapy could help children with ataxic cerebral palsy improve their balance. Ataxic cerebral palsy affects the part of the brain that controls coordination, leaving children with wobbly, unsteady movements. Sixty-four children were split into two groups: one received standard physiotherapy three times a week for three months, and the other received the same physiotherapy plus VR training using a Wii balance board.

Both groups showed improvement in their balance over the three months, but the group that added VR training showed somewhat greater gains on both the formal balance tests and on a practical balance assessment. The results suggest that combining VR with regular therapy may have a modest additional benefit, though both approaches led to meaningful change.

Researchers wanted to find out if a special video game balance program could help children with ataxic cerebral palsy improve their steadiness and coordination. The study followed 64 children for three months.

Half of them did standard physical therapy, and the other half did the same therapy but also practiced balancing on a special board connected to a video game. Both groups of children got better at their balance during those three months, which is encouraging.

The children who used the video game balance program appeared to make slightly more progress than those who just did regular therapy alone. The study suggests that adding this kind of interactive practice might give a small extra boost to regular therapy, though we will need more research to understand exactly how much difference it makes for different children.

This is a summary of research, not medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare provider about anything affecting your care.

This RCT compared standard physiotherapy against standard physiotherapy plus VR training on a Wii balance board in a cohort of 64 children with ataxic cerebral palsy, delivered three times weekly over 12 weeks. Outcome measures were stability indices (overall, anteroposterior, and mediolateral) via Biodex balance system and functional balance via Pediatric Balance Scale.

Both groups improved significantly on measured outcomes, with the VR group showing somewhat greater improvements in stability indices and PBS scores compared to the standard therapy group. The between-group differences were statistically significant, suggesting that VR may augment conventional therapy effects, though the clinical magnitude of these differences remains to be fully characterized.

The study was adequately powered and methodologically sound, but longer follow-up and investigation of whether gains persist after intervention ends would strengthen the evidence base. The findings provide preliminary support for VR as a potential adjunct within ataxic CP rehabilitation but do not establish it as a replacement for conventional physiotherapy.